laststandonzombieisland

Check out this great shot of some F-16Cs Block 50s of the Gamblers of the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron out of Shaw AFB in South Carolina, on deployment for trilateral training during Cope25 at Korat Royal Air Base, Thailand, with Thai and Singapore AF units.

The airframe is 34 years old and has been with the 77th FS since 1994

Of note, the squadron leader with the full-color “4 of a Kind” poker hand painted on the tail, SN #91-0353, is a bona fide MiG killer, having splashed a Yugo MiG-29 with an AIM-120B during Operation Allied Force on 4 May 1999.

The 77th has a lineage that dates back to 1918 and earned seven campaign streamers alongside a Distinguished Unit Citation flying close air support missions in the European theater during WWII (28 Dec 1943–25 Apr 1945).

Flying the F-111 during the Cold War on NATO assignments kept them out of Vietnam, but they have been Falcon flyers since 1993, including several stints over Bosnia and in Southwest Asia.